The Best Uncharted Game Turns 10 Today

It's rare that almost everyone agrees on the best game in a critically-acclaimed series, yet, most [...]

It's rare that almost everyone agrees on the best game in a critically-acclaimed series, yet, most would agree that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the best Uncharted game in the eminent PlayStation franchise. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End has some incredible moments, but it's marred by pacing issues and unnecessary characters. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception features the worst chapters in the series -- the desert chapters. And Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has some frustrating gameplay segments and the weakest plot and writing. Uncharted 2 is strong from start to finish, features some of the series' best secondary characters, the series' best setting, and was such a drastic improvement from the first game that it really sticks out in a series that otherwise failed to evolve. Don't get me wrong, I adore the series, but I'm also glad it's on ice for now.

Of course, there's also Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. The former is an excellent side excursion, and one that I think hangs with the numbered entries. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy on the other hand is a pretty substantial blemish. Sure, it had some of series' best writing, but that's about all it had going for it. But I'm also biased because I think Nadine is a trite character that never justified her existence in the plot of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, let alone justifies getting such a prominent role in the expansion. Also, if I'm being honest, I'm just a bit salty it wasn't Chloe and Cutter. But, I digress, this is about Uncharted 2, which turns 10 years old today.

That's right, 10 years ago today, Naughty Dog and Sony Interactive Entertainment released Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which took Uncharted and solidified it as a flagship PlayStation series. And in a lot of ways I think it kicked off the modern era of Naughty Dog more so than Uncharted 1, which felt more transitional for the studio, who was trying to shake the Jak and Daxter legacy off it. Uncharted 2 established Naughty Dog as one of the best studios in the business, and it hasn't looked back since.

At the time -- 2009 -- Uncharted 2 was one of the best games on PlayStation 3, and this didn't change. In fact, it's one of the best games of that generation, sitting at a very impressive 96 on Metacritic, which makes it the highest-rated game in the series. For those that don't know: it's set two years after the first game, and also introduces Chloe Frazer into the mix, Drake's secondary love interest. Along with Elena, the pair search for the Cintamani Stone and Shambhala, all while battling a group of mercenaries lead by Zoran Lazarevic and Harry Flynn. As you would expect, the game not only reviewed well, but sold quite well.

That all said, while I'm happy to type nice things about Uncharted 2 all day, I have to point out its one blemish: its final boss fight isn't very good, but that's the case with every game in the series.

Anyway, as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. What do you remember about Uncharted 2? And where does it rank within the series?

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